Deputy uses new Grappler tool to end car pursuit in Illinois
By Rob Hughes
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KANE COUNTY, Illinois (WLS) — It sounds like a gadget straight out of a Batman movie but instead of coming to a theater near you, “The Grappler” is outfitted on a Kane County Sheriff’s squad car.
“First deployment on the street, actually doing this, not in training, is very nerve-wracking, but once you make the decision, you just have to go with it,” Sgt. Ryan Rojkowski said.
The first time for Sgt. Rojkowski was successful as he pursued a suspect in a residential area.
Thanks to the new tool, he safely stopped the car instead of potentially ending the chase in a crash.
“In a real world application the left and right bars would fold out which would then bring the net to about here – which would also pull the net apart,” Sgt. Rojkowski said.
The pursuing officer then gets nearly bumper to bumper with the fleeing vehicle, the net catches the tire, the officer brakes and both vehicles come to a stop.
“If we can stop something very quickly from escalating even more, this is something that, why wouldn’t we look into?” Kane County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Amy Johnson said.
Undersheriff Johnson said the Grappler costs between $5,000 to $8,000 per unit. In addition, it costs about $300 to get the net-repackaged after use.
Still both Johnson and Rojkowski say the money makes sense.
“Just a simple bumper, a headlight. You know, you’re starting to go above $2,000 if it’s only about $300 bucks to get this net replaced, and there’s no damage to the squad car that keeps the squad car in service,” Rojkowski said.
As for the safety of the officers and people involved, the jury is still out.
Reports in other states suggest fleeing suspects have been injured or even killed after the Grappler was deployed.
Undersheriff Johnson admits, just like a pit maneuver or spike strips, there’s an element of risk they train to navigate.
“Are we going at high speeds? Are we not going at high speeds? Is it a populated area? So are there kids involved? High speed traffic, Randall Road, all of these different areas. And is it, you know, a life-or-death situation, let’s say. So those are all of the things that we’re trained, and our policies and procedures mirror,” Johnson said.
The Sheriff’s Office currently has two vehicles outfitted with the Grappler.
They say they hope to add two more, covering all three shifts and one for their special investigations unit.
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